A roaring start
There is no doubt that Andrea Kimi Antonelli is living the best moment of his life. In his second season in Formula 1, the Mercedes driver from Bologna secured his first F1 victory in China, and since then the 19-year-old has repeated the feat on three other occasions. A positive streak of results that has put him at the top of the championship with a 43-point lead over his teammate George Russell, becoming the youngest ever to achieve this milestone.
Advice from champions, and beyond
To date, nothing can be reproached to #12 for what he has achieved, but a world champion like Jacques Villeneuve was very clear in recent weeks, warning Antonelli not to get carried away by enthusiasm, in order to find the necessary calm should something go wrong. Sharing the Canadian’s opinion recently was not an ex-F1 driver, but a person very close and fond of the Mercedes talent: Marco Antonelli, father of the championship leader.
Beware of the first mistake
Interviewed by F1-Insider, Antonelli Sr. is convinced that a mistake could change the hitherto very positive situation for his son: “It’s a fantastic moment, of course, but it’s also dangerous – he explained – now we are at the top, but one mistake is enough and you are already at the bottom. He must keep his feet on the ground. Because, as I said, one moment you are the star and the next you are the worst driver in the world. We are trying everything right now to help him manage the situation. But then it’s up to him to keep his feet on the ground and understand that it’s very difficult. We are still at the beginning of the world championship and the season is very long. I repeat, it is by no means certain that we will remain in this position all year. We must proceed one step at a time and get the most out of each race. Then we will see.”
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The Mercedes driver, however, indicated that he does not want to think about a possible world title conquest, believing that the season is still long: “To be honest, I’m not thinking about the championship – he stated – I’m just focusing on one race at a time. I think it’s still too early to talk about it. Of course, I have this advantage now, but that doesn’t mean I can relax and take it easy. Instead, I need to keep improving and raising the bar, because it won’t be easy and my opponents are getting closer, and then George is very fast. So I will try to focus on myself, enjoy driving and drive as fast as possible.”
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